Saturday 8 September 2012 17.34 EDT
First published on Saturday 8 September 2012 17.34 EDT

The Paralympic closing ceremony will feature a "devastatingly emotional" tribute to the armed forces before a Coldplay-soundtracked celebration of the "seasonal cycle of ancient and modern festivals", according to organisers.

The ceremony will also feature a battalion of "eccentric travellers" storming the stage along with futuristic Mad Max-style vehicles from performance art group the Mutoid Waste Company.

Most of the 4,200 athletes who have competed in the Paralympic Games will be arranged on the infield, with the ceremonies director and executive producer Stephen Daldry saying that it would be a "festival of flame".

"This is not just a Coldplay concert. It is very much about festivals, celebrating the culture of festivals and bringing people together – marking beginnings, ends and the seasons of the year,", he said.

Coldplay's Chris Martin, who will lead the group through some of their biggest hits, including Viva La Vida and Yellow and welcome special guests, including Jay-Z and Rhianna, said: "It will be one of the biggest nights of our lives and we're very excited to try to create a performance for the last night of the Games that will close London 2012 in style."

Just as Danny Boyle's rapturously received Olympic opening ceremony began with a recreation of the Glastonbury Tor at one end of the Olympic Stadium, so the director Kim Gavin's Paralympics closing ceremony will try to recreate the spirit of that festival and 600 others, ancient and modern.

"We are coming together to celebrate the flame. The only narrative is taking us through the seasons. It's not just a concert, we've got fantastic visuals and amazing stunts," said Gavin, who has been rehearsing this week in Dagenham with Charles Hazlewood's Paraorchestra, Coldplay and a cast of more than 1,300 volunteers.

"A group of travellers storm the stage. They are eccentric and creative people. Coldplay play from around 30 minutes in. We've got some wonderful performances from some very eccentric people," he said.

The Billy Elliot director Daldry, who has overseen all four ceremonies, pointedly thanked the London 2012 organising committee chairman Lord Coe and chief executive Paul Deighton for protecting the vision of the individual ceremony directors "financially and politically". There was speculation before Boyle's opening ceremony that Tory ministers were uncomfortable with his segment paying tribute to the NHS at a time when reforms were causing controversy.

"This isn't just a celebration of the fantastic sport we've seen, it's a goodbye to the Paralympic Games, the athletes, the teams, the officials who have done us proud," Lord Coe said.

"Although we have witnessed excitement and exhilaration in our venues, it's only there because of the extraordinary sport."